Ramadan and Repentance

The slave needs to repent all the time, because he makes mistakes all the time, he may feel his mistake and he may not feel it, so it is necessary to commit to repentance all his hours and days.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils inside us, and from the evils we commit, those whom Allah guides are never misled by others, and those who are misled by Allah have no other to guide them, and I bear witness that there is no God except Allah, alone without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. All the Prayers and peace of Allah be upon His Messenger, his family and companions.

The Grace of Allah over His slave believers is not calculated nor counted, it is not limited by any boundaries; rather it is absolute and universal. He has created them and He has created them well, He has formed them and He has formed them well, He has provided and given them their livelihood, wealth and properties, then He has guided them to righteousness and opened the door for them to return back if they got strayed or lured by Satan. The door for repentance will remain open as long as the sun rises from the west unless the slave is about to meet his death.

The slave needs to repent all the time, because he makes mistakes all the time, he may feel his mistake and he may not feel it, so it is necessary to commit to repentance all his hours and days.

Repentance is an act of worship

Repentance is an act of worship and closeness to Allah before being a means of recanting mistakes, rather it is one of the greatest and dignified acts of worship, it leads to the love of Allah Almighty as He has said: {Truly, Allâh loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers)} [Surat Al-Baqarah 2:222].

Some scholar has said: I have been invoking Allah for thirty years to bestow upon me sincere repentance, and then I wondered and said: Glorified is Allah, I have been invoking Allah for thirty years and I am not being responded to up till now, then it was as if I were in a dream and heard a voice saying: do you wonder about that? Do you know what you are asking Allah for? You are asking Him but that He loves you; have you not heard the words of Allah Almighty: {Truly, Allâh loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers)} [Surat Al-Baqarah 2:222]. (Ghidhâ’a Al-Albâb (the Food of the Minds) by As-Safarîni 2/590)

The definition of the sincere repentance

The definition of the sincere repentance is: to quit committing sins and never to come back to it; it is thus defined by ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. [Mustadrak Al-Hâkim 2/459] A similar definition was given by Ibn Mas’ûd, Al-Hassan, Mujâhid and Adh-Dhâhik – may Allah be pleased with them and have mercy on them all. [See: Tafsîr (the Interpretation) At-Tabari, 28/107, and Madârij As-Sâlikîn (the Path of the Successful Believers) 1/309, and Al-&Acirc;dâb Alsh-Shar’yyah (the Religious Manners) by Ibn Muflih 1/86].

The impacts of repentance

1- The forgiveness of sins: forgiveness happens to the slave when he establishes repentance as Allah Almighty has said: {And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death)} [Surat Taha 20:82].

2- Success is suspended to repentance: as indicated in the words of Allah Almighty: {But as for him who repented (from polytheism and sins), believed (in the Oneness of Allâh, and in His Messenger Muhammad), and did righteous deeds (in the life of this world), then he will be among those who are successful} [Surat Al-Qasas 28:67].

3- The conversion of bad deeds into good deeds: one of the greatest impacts of repentance is the conversion of bad deeds into good deeds; the sins of the sinner -after sincere repentance- convert into good deeds; his sheets of actions become white after being black (because of his sins) as stated by the words of Allah Almighty: {Except those who repent and believe (in Islâmic Monotheism), and do righteous deeds; for those, Allâh will change their sins into good deeds, and Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful} [Surat Al-Furqân 25:70].

It was Reported by Shatb Al-Mamdûd Abi At-Tawîl, may Allah be pleased with him, that he came to the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, and said: “What do you think of he who committed all kinds of sins, and that he did not leave any one of them but that he has committed, then is there repentance for such a thing? The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: “Have you become a Muslim?” He said: “I bear witness that there is no God except Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah”. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: “Do good deeds, and leave the evil, so Allah will make them all into good deeds” he asked: and my acts of treachery and immoral deeds? He said, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him: “Yes”, so he said: Allah is great, and he kept saying it until he left. [Authenticated by Al-Albani]

Repentance includes the whole of Islam; it is the utmost goal of every believer in all his conditions and times, Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Repentance is the religion of Islam, the whole religion is included in the notion of repentance; thus the repentant deserves to be loved by Allah, because Allah loves those who repent and loves those who purify themselves. Allah loves those who obey his commands and those who refrain from performing his prohibitions. Repentance is quitting what Allah hates both inwardly and outwardly; in its notion there is Islam, faith and Al-Ihsân (i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allah, totally for Allah’s sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, in a perfect manner), thus it is the ultimate goal of every believer; the beginning of the matter and its end; it is the purpose for which creation was founded. Enjoining monotheism is part of it, but it is its greatest part on which it was founded. Most people do not know the value or the truth of repentance, not to mention performing it knowingly. Allah Almighty has not made His love to the repentant people but because that they are the elite of people for Him. Unless repentance is a comprehensive name of all the rules of Islam and the truth about faith, Allah Almighty would not be so greatly joyous with His repentant slave. All of that which people talk about of its status and conditions are its details and implications.” [Madârij As-Sâlikîn (the Path of the Successful Believers), 1 / 306-307]

Acceptance of repentance in any time

It is from the mercy of Allah that He accepts the repentance of His slave at any time of day or night, and He overwhelmingly rejoices over it though it does not benefit Him, the Almighty, the obedience of the obedient, nor does it harm Him the sin of the sinners. Abu Mûsa al-’Ash’ari, may Allah be pleased with him, Reported that the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: “Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, stretches out His Hand during the night so that the people repent for the fault committed from dawn till dusk and He stretches out His Hand daring the day so that the people may repent for the fault committed from dusk to dawn. (He would accept repentance) before the sun rises from the west (before the Day of Resurrection).” [Reported by Imam Muslim]

The Mercy of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on his people

It is from the mercy of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on his people that he has chosen for them to have time to repent than the torment, in spite of the harm and rejection he has experienced from them, he has done that only for the hope that they may repent. Ibn Abbâs, may Allah be pleased with them, Reported that: Quraish said to the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him: invoke your Lord that He turns the Safa (a mountain in Makka) into gold for us, if it is turned into gold we will follow you. So he invoked his Lord, and Jibrîl (Gabriel), peace be upon him, came to him and said: “your Lord sends greetings of peace and says to you: if you wish, the Safa will become gold for them, but if any of them after that disbelieves, then I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among all the ‘Alamîn (mankind and jinn), and if you wish I will open the door of repentance and mercy. He said: but the door of repentance and mercy”. [Reported by Ahmad 1 / 345 and Al-Hâkim 4 / 240, and its chain of transmission is attributed as being good]

Many people think that repentance is not but for those who indulge themselves in disobedience, and that those who keep performing the obligatory orders and who avoid the prohibitions do not need to repent. This is conceit and bad thinking, as repentance is required from the slave even if he were the most devoted worshipper, the most ascetic, the most pious and informed of people. The more a person knows his Lord the more he is repentant and asking for forgiveness. The Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, the most well-informed of his Lord and the most pious and fearful of Him, who is forgiven what has passed and what will be of his sins, nevertheless, he is the most repentant of all people. He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: “by Allah, I ask Allah for forgiveness and repent to Him in the day more than seventy times.” [Reported by Al-Bukhari]

Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, has said: We counted that the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, would say a hundred times during a meeting: “My Lord, forgive me and pardon me; You are the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.” [Reported by Abu Dawood and authenticated by Al-Albani]

Nothing constrains people from repentance or delaying it more than the long expectations they have in this world, and what bliss they are living in. Otherwise, if calamities descend upon the slave he hastens to repent, and if a general calamity befalls the people you see a large number of repentant. So beware -Dear readers- that long expectations make us forget to hasten to repentance.

Receiving Ramadan with repentance

One of the graces of Allah towards His slaves is that He has made frequent for them seasons of good, where He has varied the types of the acts of worship. Seasons that come to them each year, when a person indulges in amusement with children and money, and forgets his Lord, and disrupts the rituals of his religion, and is being drawn to the devil, so he practices all kinds of sins during his heedlessness and slumber. So, Ramadan comes to awaken him from his slumber, to lead him to his Lord and to invite him to renew his repentance. Ramadan deserves repentance to be renewed in it, as in it good deeds are multiplied and sins are erased, and slips are reduced and ranks are raised, for whomever who is worthy of this, for he who knows Ramadan well, and who performs the due acts of worship to Allah faithfully and diligently.

If a person is asked to repent all the time, then Repentance in Ramadan is emphasized, because it is a great month where the mercies of the Lord of the Worlds descend, but it needs from people to commit to the demands of Allah. Where are those who have transgressed against themselves by committing evil deeds and sins? Those who spent days and nights in disobedience? Those who met the blessings of Allah with ingratitude? Those who fought against Allah in His land? And who opposed Him in His realm? Where are they? Let them repent. Is there any one of us who is innocent of sin?

Nay, we are the sinners, but we hope to be of those who repent, because “the best amongst them sinners are the repentant” as was said by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. [Reported by Ibn Majah and authenticated by Al-Albani]

«خير الخطائين التوابون» رواه ابن ماجه وصححه الألباني

The door to repentance is open: where are the repentant?

In Islam there is no mediator between the slave and his Lord, as is the case in many other religions where the priest or the rabbi decides that the repentance of a slave is not accepted unless he pays him some money!!

Accepting repentance is managed by slaves like themselves, they devour the wealth of mankind in falsehood, and they lead them to hellfire.

Repentance in Islam is free of charge. Neither a priest nor a rabbi will count favors against people that they have guided them, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is the Guide. In Islam everyone is rewarded for his deeds, no one bears the burden of sins but the doer of them, slaves will not bear the burden of the sin of Adam, their father, or the sin of anyone else as in other religions. Some non-Muslims converted to Islam because of this verse: {And no bearer of burdens shall bear another’s burden} [Surat Fâtir 35:18],

{وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى} فاطر: 18

Transliteration: Wala taziru waziratun wizra okhra

Because it is established in their religion that whatever good they do, they still carry the burden of the first sin; but the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has canceled those myths and brought about the true religion of Allah Almighty.

There is no despair in Islam

Whatever sins and acts of obedience the slave commits, there is no despair in Islam from the Mercy of Allah Almighty, even if the slave committed acts of disbelieve or of giving partners to Allah; once the slave repents and returns to faith he will receive the Mercy of Allah Almighty. Repentance erases what came before it, and Islam annuls what came before it.

And despair is a weapon of Satan’s which he sharpens by sins so as to continue his disobedience, but Allah Almighty, is Most Merciful and full of Kindness to His slaves. He calls them always no matter what transgression they have made against their souls: {Say: “O ‘Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh: verily, Allâh forgives all sins. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful} [Surat Az-Zummar 39:53],

From the greatness of Allah’s mercy towards His slaves, and His preference for them is the great joy that He rejoices over the repentance of someone of them though that if they obey Him, they will benefit Him not; and if they disobey Him they will do Him no harm. Al-Barâ’ ibn ‘Azib Reported that: the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: “What is your opinion about the delight of a person whose camel, loaded with the provisions of food and drink, is lost and that it moves about with its nose string trailing upon the waterless desert in which there is neither food nor drink, and that he wanders about in searching for it until he is completely exhausted; and then accidentally the camel happens to pass by the trunk of a tree and its nose string gets entangled in that; so he finds it entangled therein?” We said: Oh Messenger of Allah, he would feel highly delighted. Thereupon the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: “By Allah, Allah is more delighted at the repentance of His slave than that person as he finds his lost camel”. [Reported by Muslim]

Glorified and Exalted be Allah! He rejoices over the repentance of His slaves though that they are who stand in need of Him, but He is Rich, Free of all needs. He is capable above them and they are unable beneath Him. He calls for them to repent and suspends their success over it; only losers reject this: {And all of you beg Allâh to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful} [Surat An-Nûr 24:31].

No matter how many times the slave of Allah repeated committing sins, he should repent, and be sincere in his repentance to Allah so as not to be a liar. Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, Reported from the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him of what he narrates from Allah Glorified and Exalted, he has said: “A servant committed a sin and he said: O Allah, forgive me my sins, and Allah (the Exalted and Glorious) said: My servant committed a sin and then he came to realize that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins and takes to account (the sinner) for the sin. He then again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me my sin, and Allah, the Exalted and High, said: My servant committed a sin and then came to realize that he has a Lord Who would forgive his sin or would take (him) to account for the sin. He again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me for my sin, and Allah (the Exalted and High) said: My servant has committed a sin and then came to realize that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins or takes (him) to account for sin. O servant, do what you like. I have granted you forgiveness. ‘Abd al-A'la said: I do not know whether he said thrice or four times to do what you desire.” [Reported by Muslim]

Al-Mundhiri said: “It means that, and Allah knows best: it is that as long as he commits a sin and then asks for forgiveness and repents, and that he does not commit the same sin again; and the evidence that he said ‘then he committed another sin’, let him do that if this is his habit, because when he commits a sin, his repentance and seeking forgiveness are expiation for his sin so that it would not harm him, but if he sins but repents only by his tongue and does not give up committing it and then he commits the same sin again, then this is the repentance of the liars.” [At-Targhîb 4 / 91]

How do we repent?

The repentance of the slave is not sincere until he gives up the sin, and sternly determines never to commit it again. But if he asks forgiveness by his tongue and his heart is embarking upon committing the sin and his soul is enticing him towards it, then this is the repentance of a wicked heart. The tongue repentance is of no benefit for him.

The sign of the determination on giving up sins: remorse over past sins, crying because of them, and regretting what his hands have committed. He regrets hastening in performing acts of disobedience and in neglecting acts of obedience. ‘Umar Ibn Dhar said: “every sorrow fades away except the sorrow of the repentant.” [Nuzhat Al-’Uqalâ’ (The Trip of the Wise) / 548] It is because he imagines the ugliness of his sins and reflects on the greatness of Allah in His creation; so his heart wanders in horror and wonders: how could he commit such ugly sins towards Him Who has such Greatness and Might. Thus remorse tears him apart on past sins; which leads him to hasten for good deeds to gain the rewards.

Anas Ibn An-Nadr, may Allah be pleased with him, missed the fight in the battle of Badr with the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, he did not go out to the fight; however the battle took place after that according to the will of Allah Almighty as He has said: {Even if you had made a mutual appointment to meet, you would certainly have failed in the appointment, but (you met) that Allâh might accomplish a matter already ordained (in His Knowledge),} [Surat Al-Anfâl 8:42].

Some of the Companions were in al-Madina and they did not know that there was a battle taking place, among them was Anas Ibn An-Nadr. So he greatly remorse and regretted not attending Badr, so he said to the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him: “O Messenger of Allah! I was absent from the first battle you fought against the pagans. By Allah, if Allah gives me a chance to fight the pagans, no doubt, Allah will see how bravely I will fight.” [Reported by Al-Bukhari]

Thus said, he registered his remorse over what has passed and the result of this remorse: his stern determination to fight the disbelievers; and here comes the battle of Uhud to confirm his remorse where more than eighty wounds by swords and arrows were found on his body. His body was mutilated so badly that none except his sister could recognize him by his fingers, as a result of his dedication in fighting the disbelievers. On him and his peers the following words of Allah Almighty have been revealed: {Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allâh [i.e. they have gone out for Jihâd (holy fighting), and showed not their backs to the disbelievers]; of them some have fulfilled their obligations (i.e. have been martyred); and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed [i.e. they never proved treacherous to their covenant which they concluded with Allâh] in the least} [Surat Al-Ahzâb 33:23].

By Allah they have been true in their repentance and remorse; they spoke little but confirmed their words by their deeds. We speak and resolve to repent, and we show regret over our sins, but we may weaken in front of the temptations of the devil in this holy month; and we may like to spend the nights in the meetings of fun and negligence and forbidden pleasures, and we say: we repent, is this repentance.

Shaqîq Al-Balkhi said: “the signs of repentance: crying over past sins, fear of falling into committing sins, abandoning bad companions and adhering by the good righteous people.” [Nuzhat Al-Fudalâ’ (The Trip of the Virtuous) / 711]

Are there any of these signs in our repentance? Or are we still not afraid of sins, nor do we forsake bad companions, but we abandon the good righteous people, and then afterwards we say: “We repent!! What lie is this? Do we lie to Allah Almighty and He sees us? O Allah Glorified and Exalted, how great our sin is! And how little our praise is! So we ask You Allah to pardon us, and that You accept us with beautiful acceptance, and that You amend what has become wicked of our hearts, You are the All Hearer, the One who answers our prayers.

Prayers and peace of Allah be upon our Prophet, Muhammad and upon his family and companions.